CHESTER (Pa.) exchanged narrow strips of
territory with NEW CASTLE when the U.S. Congress ratified the
agreement between Delaware and Pennsylvania on the demarcation
of their common boundary. Net result was that CHESTER (Pa.)
gained a small sliver of territory along the circular line
(known as the Horn) and NEW CASTLE gained a small triangular
area by the northeast corner of Maryland (known as the Wedge)
[not mapped].(Lunt, 59, 61; Van Zandt, 83)

Maryland implicitly asserted its claim to
the area of present Delaware by creating two counties along
the Atlantic coast: DURHAM (Md., extinct) was created north of
"Hoar Kill" (now Lewes) from SOMERSET (Md.) and non-county
area along the Atlantic coast; and an unnamed county was
created in present southern Delaware and Maryland [unnamed
county not mapped]. These counties were never
operational. DURHAM included territory in present Delaware and
Pennsylvania.(Archives of Md., 5:56-57)

ST. JONES (now KENT) created under the
authority of the Duke of York from NEW CASTLE and HOARKILL
(later DEALE, now SUSSEX); no inland limits specified.(Docs. of N.Y., 12:654, 664, 666-667;
Reed, 12)

24 Aug 1682

ST. JONES (now KENT) was transferred with
the rest of the western Delaware Bay region from the Duke of
York to William Penn.(Pa. Archives, 2d ser., 5:739-744)

07 Dec 1682

William Penn annexed the Delaware River
region to Pennsylvania. ST. JONES (now KENT) became part of
the area known as the Territories or Lower Counties of
Pennsylvania. Maryland did not abandon its claim to the
Delaware region but had no control there.(Swindler, 2:191-192)

by 21 Dec 1682

ST. JONES renamed
KENT.(Penn, 2:324)

25 Dec 1682

KENT lost to SUSSEX.(Turner, 82)

28 May 1687

KENT gained from SUSSEX; lost to NEW
CASTLE.(Scharf, 2:1030)

by 29 Nov 1704

KENT was separated
from Pennsylvania when Delaware became a distinct
colony.(Penn, 4:309; Rodney, 239)

02 Sep 1775

KENT lost to SUSSEX; boundary was completed
westward to the Maryland line.(Del., Laws of the State, vol. 1,
ch. 229, sec. 4/pp. 569-570)

04 Jul 1776

The three Lower Counties, including KENT,
became an independent state. The name Delaware was formally
adopted on 20 September 1776.(Declaration of Independence; Swindler,
2:197)

After completing their re-conquest of New
York in August 1673, the Dutch created NEW AMSTEL (now NEW
CASTLE) as one of three countylike courts that became original
counties in Delaware; no inland limits specified.(Docs. of N.Y., 12:507-508; George, Nead,
and McCamant, 453-454; Reed, 22)

06 Nov 1674

In the Autumn of 1674, the Dutch returned
New York and the Delaware River settlements, including NEW
AMSTEL (now NEW CASTLE) to the Duke of York in accordance with
the Treaty of Westminster (9 February 1673/1674). By 6
November 1674 NEW AMSTEL was made dependent on New York,
although Maryland also claimed the area.(Docs. of N.Y., 12:515; George, Nead, and
McCamant, 454; Parry, 13:136)

by 11 Nov 1674

NEW AMSTEL was renamed
NEW CASTLE.(Docs. of N.Y., 12:515)

22 Sep 1676

The Duke of York's laws were extended from
New York to the Delaware region; NEW CASTLE was formally
placed under the Duke of York's laws.(Docs. of N.Y., 12:561-563, Reed,
13)

12 Nov 1678

NEW CASTLE gained from UPLAND
(extinct).(Armstrong, 119, 198)

21 Jun 1680

NEW CASTLE lost to creation of ST. JONES
(now KENT).(Docs. of N.Y., 12:654, 664, 666-667;
Reed, 12)

24 Aug 1682

NEW CASTLE was transferred with the rest of
the western Delaware Bay region from the Duke of York to
William Penn. NEW CASTLE Implicitly gained the southern
remnant of UPLAND (extinct) south of the 12-mile circular
boundary around New Castle established 4 March 1680/1681 as
the northern limit of the Delaware region.(Pa. Archives, 2d ser., 5:739-744)

07 Dec 1682

William Penn annexed the Delaware River
region to Pennsylvania. NEW CASTLE became part of the area
known as the Territories or Lower Counties of
Pennsylvania. Maryland did not abandon its claim to the
Delaware region but had no control there.(Swindler, 2:191-192)

28 May 1687

NEW CASTLE gained from KENT.(Scharf, 2:1030)

by 29 Nov 1704

NEW CASTLE was
separated from Pennsylvania when Delaware became a distinct
colony.(Penn, 4:309; Rodney, 239)

NEW CASTLE exchanged narrow strips of
territory with CHESTER (Pa.) when the U.S. Congress ratified
the agreement between Delaware and Pennsylvania on the
demarcation of their common boundary. NEW CASTLE lost a small
sliver of territory along the circular line (known as the
Horn) and gained a small triangular area by the northeast
corner of Maryland (known as the Wedge) [not mapped].(Lunt, 59, 61; Van Zandt, 83)

Non-County Area 1 created in Delaware when
representatives of Maryland and Pennsylvania agreed on the boundary
between their two colonies, including the line between Maryland
and Delaware. The two sides could not agree on how to implement
the agreement, and the line was not settled until 4 July 1760
when the Penns and Lord Baltimore confirmed the first agreement.
King George III did not approve the survey until 1769.(Paullin, 84-85, pl. 100; Pa. Archives, ser. 2, 16:449-460)

02 Sep 1775

Non-County Area 1 lost all territory to KENT,
NEW CASTLE, and SUSSEX when the county boundaries were extended westward
to the Maryland line; Non-County Area 1 eliminated.(Del., Laws of the State, vol. 1, ch. 229, sec. 4/pp. 569-570)

SOMERSET (Md.) created by Maryland from
non-county area south of TALBOT (Md.). Area included all land
between the Nanticoke River and the Atlantic Ocean (including
part of southern Delaware), but Maryland did not try to
exercise jurisdiction in the eastern part that is present
Delaware.(Archives of Md., 3:553-555)

22 Oct 1669

Maryland implicitly asserted its claim to
the area of present Delaware by creating two counties along
the Atlantic Coast: SOMERSET (Md.) lost to creation of DURHAM
(Md., extinct), and an unnamed county [unnamed county not
mapped]; neither county became operational.(Archives of Md., 5:56-57)

13 Nov 1685

King James II approved the decision of the
Committee for Trade and Plantations, which concluded the area
of present Delaware belonged to Pennsylvania, not Maryland;
SOMERSET (Md.) lost to SUSSEX and Pennsylvania, and was
eliminated from present Delaware.(Lunt, 47; Report on the Resurvey, 145;
Van Zandt, 81)

After completing their re-conquest of New
York in August 1673, the Dutch created HOARKILL (later DEALE,
now SUSSEX) as one of three countylike courts that became
original counties in Delaware; no inland limits were
specified.(Docs. of N.Y., 12:507-508; George, Nead,
and McCamant, 453-454; Reed, 22)

06 Nov 1674

In the Autumn of 1674, the Dutch returned
New York and the Delaware River settlements, including
HOARKILL (later DEALE, now SUSSEX) to the Duke of York in
accordance with the Treaty of Westminster (9 February
1673/1674). By 6 November 1674 HOARKILL was made dependent on
New York, although Maryland also claimed the area.(Docs. of N.Y., 12:515; George, Nead, and
McCamant, 454; Parry, 13:136)

22 Sep 1676

The Duke of York's laws were extended from
New York to the Delaware region; HOARKILL (later DEALE, now
SUSSEX) was formally placed under the Duke of York's
laws.(Docs. of N.Y., 12:561-563; Reed,
13)

DEALE (now SUSSEX) was transferred with the
rest of the western Delaware Bay region from the Duke of York
to William Penn.(Pa. Archives, 2d ser., 5:739-744)

07 Dec 1682

William Penn annexed the Delaware River
region to Pennsylvania. DEALE (now SUSSEX) became part of the
area known as the Territories or Lower Counties of
Pennsylvania. Maryland did not abandon its claim to the
Delaware region but had no control there.(Swindler, 2:191-192)

25 Dec 1682

DEALE renamed SUSSEX; SUSSEX gained from
KENT.(Turner, 82)

13 Nov 1685

SUSSEX implicitly gained territory
immediately north of Maryland, including part of SOMERSET
(Md.) when King James II approved the decision of the
Committee for Trade and Plantations, which concluded the area
of present Delaware belonged to Pennsylvania, not Maryland.
The exact boundary line was not settled until 1760.(Lunt, 47; Report on the Resurvey, 145;
Van Zandt, 81)

28 May 1687

SUSSEX lost to KENT.(Scharf, 2:1030)

by 29 Nov 1704

SUSSEX was separated
from Pennsylvania when Delaware became a distinct
colony.(Penn, 4:309; Rodney, 239)

04 Jul 1760

The proprietors of Maryland and
Pennsylvania and the Lower Counties (now Delaware) agreed on
the course of their common boundary. This settled the southern
boundary of SUSSEX, although surveying problems prevented
final implementation until 1769.(Lunt, 56; Report on the Resurvey, 179;
Van Zandt, 81-82)

After completing their re-conquest of New
York in August 1673, the Dutch created UPLAND (extinct) as one
of three countylike courts that became original counties in
Delaware; no inland limits specified. UPLAND included
territory in present Delaware and Pennsylvania, and overlapped
part of WORCESTER (Md., original, extinct).(Docs. of N.Y., 12:507-508; George, Nead,
and McCamant, 453-454; Reed, 22)

06 Nov 1674

In the Autumn of 1674, the Dutch returned
New York and the Delaware River settlements, including UPLAND
(extinct) to the Duke of York in accordance with the Treaty of
Westminster (9 February 1673/1674). By 6 November 1674 UPLAND
was made dependent on New York although Maryland also claimed
the area.(Docs. of N.Y., 12:515; George, Nead, and
McCamant, 454; Parry, 13:136)

22 Sep 1676

The Duke of York's laws were extended from
New York to the Delaware region; UPLAND (extinct) was formally
placed under the Duke of York's laws.(Docs. of N.Y., 12:561-563; Reed,
13)

12 Nov 1678

UPLAND (extinct) lost to NEW CASTLE.(Armstrong, 119, 198)

04 Mar 1681

[4 March 1680/1681] King Charles II created
Pennsylvania from parts of earlier grants to Connecticut and
Virginia, granting it as a proprietary colony to William Penn.
Territory to be bounded on the southeast by the arc of a
circle, 12 miles in radius and centered in New Castle,
Del. This grant implicitly set the 12-mile circle as the
northern limit of the Delaware region, covering most of UPLAND
(extinct).(Swindler, 8:243)

by 30 Jun 1681

UPLAND was eliminated when
the newly chartered proprietary colony of Pennsylvania
instituted government for all territory on the west side of
the Delaware River from 12 miles north of New Castle to the
parallel of 42 degrees north latitude, including area also
claimed by Maryland. A southern remant of UPLAND (extinct)
that had extended south of the circular boundary around New
Castle was added to NEW CASTLE in 1682.(Armstrong, 196; Swindler, 8:243)

WORCESTER (Md., original, extinct) created
by Maryland from DURHAM (Md., extinct) and the unnamed coastal
county in present Delaware. DURHAM (Md.) and the unnamed
county were eliminated. WORCESTER (Md., original), located in
present Delaware and Pennsylvania, never became
operational.(Archives of Md., 5:107-110)

12 Sep 1673

After completing their re-conquest of New
York in August 1673, the Dutch created UPLAND (extinct) as one
of three countylike courts that became original counties in
Delaware; no inland limits specified. UPLAND included
territory in present Delaware and Pennsylvania, and overlapped
part of WORCESTER (Md., original, extinct).(Docs. of N.Y., 12:507-508; George, Nead,
and McCamant, 453-454; Reed, 22)

13 Nov 1685

King James II approved the decision of the
Committee for Trade and Plantations, which concluded the area
of present Delaware belonged to Pennsylvania, not Maryland;
WORCESTER (Md., original) eliminated.(Lunt, 47; Report on the Resurvey, 145;
Van Zandt, 81)